Nasser’s exchange and work will be shared with the KAUST community at the end of his residency.
The artists-in-labs KAUST-Swiss Residency Exchange 2019 is supported by KAUST, The Office of Enrichment Programs and the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia. Follow the Enrichment Office on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram to stay tuned on Nasser’s journey and more cultural and artistic activities organized by the Enrichment Office.
About the Artist
Since his childhood, he has been asking what is the size of a human being in relation to the outer space, what are the parameters of this relationship, and how can humans recognize it. These questions still preoccupy him today and he is attempting to address them throughout his practice.
Nasser Al-Salem believes that when we turn our attention to understanding this relationship and gain a deeper insight about the nature we all are part of, we might live in a different way. His exploration of concepts relates to scale, the human, and the infinite (or our current perception of the infinite). These concepts aim to reflect on the condition of time, space and the universe as a system that is beyond all religious and profane components.
Nasser has been nominated for the Prudential Eye Awards 2015 and was artist-in-residence in New York in 2018 and London in 2014. In 2018, the artist’s work was a part of The Royal Commission of Al-Ula’s and was exhibited at the Winter at Tantora Festival in Saudi Arabia.
Interconnecting Arts, Culture and Science – The KAUST Enrichment Office
Art and culture are a source of inspiration for innovative science and vice versa. Immersing oneself inside the creative world of an artist, listening to music, or merely experiencing something different than the ordinary can result in creative scientific ideas.
As part of the Office of Enrichment Program’s mission to educate, inspire and enrich the KAUST students, community, the Kingdom and the world, the Office has organized more than 580 cultural events and invited more than 220 artists to KAUST since 2010.
About the artists-in-labs program
Since 2003, the AIL has been facilitating artistic research by way of long-term residencies for artists in scientific laboratories and research institutes, not just in Switzerland but all around the world. These long-term interdisciplinary and cross-border collaborations provide artists with an opportunity to critically engage with the sciences and their experimental and aesthetic dimensions. This includes explorations of the site of the laboratory, as well as a range of scientific topics, methods and technologies. Publications and short films document and reflect the processes and findings of the residencies.
All the collaborations the AIL produces are presented at various national and international exhibitions, symposia and workshops, making it possible to share findings and ideas, and to provide accessible discussions and aesthetic experiences to our students, peers and to the public.
www.nasseralsalem.com // www.mat.ethz.ch // www.complex.mat.ethz.ch // www.artistsinlabs.ch/en // www.zhdk.ch/en // www.prohelvetia.ch/en // enrichment.kaust.edu.sa